What Do Women Want?

There are questions and then there is THE question – ‘What do women want?’

Stereotypical notions have been attached to this question; that women DON’T KNOW what they want. That they are confused because they perennially changing their minds. That they might think that they know what they want, but in reality, they don’t.

Multiple methods have been tried to arrive at the answer. Women have been quizzed, surveys have been conducted, psychologists have been summoned, books have been written, debates have been held, movies made – the list is endless.

But one method to discover what she REALLY wants seems to have slipped through the cracks; no one has ever tried hard enough to get her to VOTE.

Surprising, you may say? Think about it.

Ask a woman what she really needs. She will respond by first telling you that she can find a job, buy a car or own a home all by herself, she knows how. But working in an office that has no Sexual Harassment Cell makes her vulnerable. Driving that car that she owns puts her at risk if it’s late at night on a deserted stretch. Getting permits to own that home means doing under the table deals. So what she really needs is a system and a government that is accountable to and works in the best interest of her.

When you’re done asking a woman the big question, lead her to the answer, if she hasn’t arrived at it herself. Then ask if she wants to continue as though these are matters that need not be discussed. Ask her how much she really cares, as a woman, about the other women in her life… her mother, daughter, sister, friend, female colleague or even her house-hold help.

Ask every woman you know and then ask them to vote.

Because when all the women who constitute 49% of the vote bank in India go out and exercise that right, the question will be answered and all of us will know exactly what women really want.